Mumbai Indians secured their second consecutive victory in the 2023 Women’s Premier League (WPL) season, courtesy of a nine-wicket triumph over Royal Challengers Bangalore, here at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Chasing a target of 156 runs, Harmanpreet Kaur’s team crossed the finish line in only 14.2 overs.
RCB skipper, Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted for the more popular option of batting first. It once seemed to be the correct call, as both of Bangalore’s openers in Mandhana and New Zealand’s Sophie Devine, got off to quickfire starts with the first four overs producing 35 runs.
However, the procession of boundaries was halted in the fifth over when Saika Ishaque, who scalped a four-fer in the last match, ran rings around the girls in red and black.
The spinner dismissed both Devine and Disha Kasat in the same over, whilst the very next over saw Hayley Matthews picking sending Mandhana and Heather Knight back to the pavilion, reducing RCB to a 43/4.
From a spot of bother, the pair of Richa Ghosh and Ellyse Perry did well not only in restricting the fall of wickets, but also avoiding any steep decline in the scoring rate. The 28-run fifth-wicket stand was finally broken in the ninth over, with a brilliant direct hit from Humaira Kazi bringing the downfall of the Australian all-rounder.
Bangalore then found a rather unlikely saviour in Kanika Ahuja, the uncapped 20-year-old player hailing from Punjab, who played a few big shots to help mitigate the pressure. By the time she was dismissed by Pooja Vastrakar in the 13th over, Mandhana’s girls had already breached the 100-run mark.
All they needed then was the last recognised batter, Richa to extend her stay at the crease till the end of the innings, but it was not to be with Matthews handing her the departure ticket in the next over itself. Bangalore ultimately managed to score 155 runs, but it would not have been possible without the combined efforts of pacers Shreyanka Patil and Megan Schutt, who accumulated 23 and 20 runs respectively.
Matthews, Sciver-Brunt Make Light Work of RCB Bowlers
Mumbai Indians’ innings had a pretty similar start to that of their opposition, yielding 34 runs in four overs, before the first breakthrough arrived in the fifth over. Bowling her second over of the match, Preeti Bose trapped Yastika Bhatia leg before wicket when the batter was batting on 23.
Unlike RCB, however, there was no batting collapse from the Mumbai team, as Natalie Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews were seen at their aggressive best.
The first ten overs produced 95 runs, whilst the last 64 runs came in only 26 deliveries.
The West Indian opener remained unbeaten on 77 runs off 38 deliveries, with England’s Sciver-Brunt being not out on a 29-ball 55. This win helps Mumbai Indians climb to the pole position with four points in two matches, while Bangalore remain fourth, ahead of Gujarat Giants only owing to a better net run rate.
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